Danse Macabre
by Director Zakuro
Summary: "I've waited so long for the curtain to rise. Come, join me in the dance of death." In the aftermath of throwing herself to her death, a woman finds herself reincarnated as a demon child thirty years before the start of a fictional story she barely even remembers anymore. (A series of one-shots in chronological order.) Canon Divergence / Manga Spoilers
1. Chapter 1 - Many Things

**I.**

* * *

_It's tiny_, was the first thought that came to Nestio as he cradled the small creature, _and mine_.

The thing was swaddled in his own blood, drenched almost. A prematurely born monster was impossibly rare, but to add to the fact that it was highly unlikely one would survive.

This creature, however, survived the impossible.

And it was _his to protect, to nurture, to feed._

Nestio kept his offspring in his body until it grew to exceptional size, hidden behind the digestive area where it itself would get its fill as he does.

_He will let it grow, and live, and prosper._

But first, he needs to hunt.

* * *

**II.**

* * *

The little one grew as time went on. Sparks of a new life gaining conscience made Nestio feel giddy inside.

It needed not to talk as its emotions told its sire what it needed, what it wanted.

The gigantic demon did what he had to fulfill it.

Days flew by, and the size of his offspring grew to a constant rate. The diet of cheap farm meat was tasteless and bland, but it gave the growth of his kin a start. It was an exception he has come to accept.

Maybe one day, Nestio and this little creature would taste the exquisite high-quality farm meat that the nobles keep so dearly to themselves.

* * *

**III.**

* * *

He can see its features. The identical three eyes that lined up perfectly on its face. The wide lip line of where the mouth should be. Dainty bony fingers and toes poked out of the red fluid.

Perhaps he can form a similar mask to his own when it is born.

He would need to find the right size, and measure the length of how long the horns will be-Ah! He knows what he can do. But first, the gender of his offspring will be the first step of figuring out the horn length.

Horn length and appearance of masks depended on the gender of a creature. Not only its gender but the shape, size, power and strength, and political standing of an individual. Royals receive the best of the best, as they are important and hold more power. Nobles and Aristocrats have something similar but are not as guaranteed as royals.

The strength of these shields goes on, the lowest and more fragile are children's mask.

Children masks were the same but it still signified the purpose of having one worn to keep in track of where the small giddy monsters are at all times.

A girl, he figured out, days later.

Immediately, Nestio travels to a town in search of materials.

* * *

**IV.**

* * *

She stops growing.

The time has come, Nestio realizes, but it is too early.

Is it because she was born too early? Did he balance out the diet correctly? Did he not proportion each meal for every day? _Itwasallhisfaulthowcanhebeso__**sTuPiD**__-_

Nestio nestled the child further into his body. In the ancient language, he coos softly.

"_My precious child…_"

* * *

**V.**

* * *

_Ravalima _is what he names her. The name is loved by his child, perking and radiating the love when he says it.

He has come to love the name as well, as it derives from Queen Legravalima.

A name of a Queen to a benefitting and perfect child.

_Ravalima._

* * *

**VI.**

* * *

Ravalima wiggled her body, head darting in every direction possible as Nestio cradled her in his arms.

Just hours ago she was born. A quiet morning it had been, only to be broken by a screeching mewl. It was the first time in centuries since he had been this… _stressed._

He clipped on the mask with a pop, shielding the oversensitive raw face from the outside world.

Small tiny, three-fingered hands clawed at the newly placed mask. Nestio gently pulled the small hands away with his own identical hands.

_Beautiful_, Nestio thought while delicately picking up the thin white strands of hair, _and mine._

* * *

**VII. ?**

* * *

_Blurry. Unfocused. Why can't she see anything?_

_What was happening to her?_

She choked out one final gasp for air in this deep dark liquid prison that was called the ocean.

A loud pop made her flinch and she took a large intake of air with a desperate gasp. The sound that came out of her mouth was neither a gasp or choke, but a strangled mewl of something that wasn't at all _human._

What the fuck.

She opened her eyes, blinking. Her vision was _insanely _sharp. Like, sharp _sharp_, sharp to the point she can see the tiny critters that laid on the dead brown leaves far away from her.

'_M-My hands!' _She pinched her monstrously two fingers and thumb together, morbidly fascinated. '_What the fuck am I? What drugs am I on?'_

She lifted her foot, staring at the skeletal bone that was her foot. Like a thin twig connecting to other twigs is all she could describe it as. They were shaped like bony chicken feet.

'_Drowning. Drowning! I remember drowning and then-!'_ Immersed in her thoughts she made a small yelp as she was picked up. She looked up and saw a very intimidating _demon _that was four times her current size.

It cooed next to her ear softly, and she guessed it was supposed to calm her down but _no it did not fucking calm her down, _so she squirmed her head in every direction. All she saw was trees, trees, and- Oh, look! More trees.

'_I drowned. I died. I got reincarnated as something that is not human at all.'_

Then, something heavy and hard collided with her face albeit gently. It popped itself on with a soft click. Using her _chicken feet hands _she tried to pry it off her face.

Identical chicken feet hands gently grabbed her own, sharp bone grazed her.

"I don't know how I should feel about this." She spoke, aloud, however, only growls and soft chirps came from her mouth.

Is she in hell?

* * *

IX.

* * *

.

.

.

What was happening again?

.

.

.

It's so **D**a**R**k

.

.

.

I can't b**R**e**A**t**H**e

.

.

.

I don't want to _ḑ̷̨̧̧̧͓͈̠̪̤̘̯͈͔̫̳̺̰͍̠͈̝̦͔̯̯̝̀͌̆̂͒͊̅̈̉͐̎͂̿̍̽̅̈́̂̔͛͋̐̂́̑̑̂̑̉̏͐͝͝ͅi̵̡̛̭͎̟̩̣͚̣̜̰͙̯͖̼͔̙̲̬̠̳̩͔͔̲̲̭̞̻͕̐̃̇̍́͂̈́̏̑̈́̈́̓̌̍̈́̍̂̄͗̒̓̓̅́̚̚͠͠ͅë̶̢͉̯̫͇̘̘̻̦͔͇͙́̑̎̑̂̑̚͠_

.

.

.

P̸͚͙͙̹̩͇̱̣̝͔͉̳̜̪̱̱̤̼̌̆̍̈́͆͆̒̽̈́͑̇̅͂̒̅͗͘̚͝͝ͅļ̴̲̖̠̱͓̦͙̞̠̘̹̳̭͚͓͇͙̻͉̺̩̜͔͍̻̬̙̼̲͋͗̇ͅḝ̷̢̙̤̺̹̰͕͚͉̦̩̹͙͇̥̻̭̪̝̯̝̥̟̪͕̟̓̍͋̓͐́͆̆̅́̌̈̔͋̾͐̾̂̊̅̒̿̚͜͜͝͝ͅa̴̢͕̤̭̙͚̼̮̞̮̗̼͓̯̱̰̖̙͖̘̣̺͇̜̩̻̦̜̪̼̠̦͍̤̗̎̾̌̄̀͌̓̽͌̏͗̍̌̋̅͐͠ṡ̶̢̧̧̡̜̣͔̻͚̙̖͔̩͙̣͕̜̼͉͕̐̿̚͘̚ȩ̵̧̜̠̙̦͙̤̰͉̹͔̪̘̖̣̟͔̫̞̟̹̠̝͒͆̂̈́͗͊̅̇̈́̒̎̒̊̓̅͌̚͠͠ͅ ̷̨̧̧̤̯̞̖̗̥̤̖̲̠̭̥̤̣̌̓͒́͑͗̆̔͒̀͜d̴̡̢̛̹͕̻̘͔̭̟̪̟̭̻̮̤̹͖̖͂̑͋̾͋̇̓͋͗̀́̑̊̈̐͋̄͊̑̿̀͗͂́̈͛̇̓͝͝͝͝͠ͅo̷̡̨̪̲̜̮̖͖̹̼̹͉̤̜͗̒͂̑̏̈̌̍̑̊n̷̢̢̢̡̧̺̱͔̻͔̙̜͔̞̳͚̮͊͒̽̓́͒̈́̇̔͆̈́̉͋̀͌̐̀̌͗̈̿͜͝͝'̶͔̥̾͆̏̽̅̇̔͂́̃̓̚͘t̷̛̺̖̞͑́̉͂̈́̋̃̂̿̓̋̂̄͌̔͊̀͛̿͑̿͛̽̈́̓̓̅̈́̇̉͌͌́̕ ̶̡͎͉͙̼͖͕͉̳͚͎̘̳̻̹͎̾͋̈́l̵̨̼̬͔̜͍̹̭̙̞͚̝͇͍̦̮̻̳̗̫͕̦̩͖̺̮̭͈̬̫͕̋̓̽̌̉́̏͗͛̎͗̓̀̕͝ẻ̴̟̈́̍́͆̊̄̍͋͊̈́̒̑͊̄͊̽̾̀̂̕͘ṭ̸̨̧̱̦̙͎̰͈͖̻͙̪̬̼̖̖̙̙͍͉̠̱̳̟͇͍̫̲̲͚̓̆̊͊̽̀̈́͂̊͗̏̍̎̒͛̕̕̕͝ͅ ̴̨͇̬̳̗̻̱̻͙͕̮̦͓̃̎͂̀̎̈́́̑͜ͅm̸̳̬̅́̊̏̆͐̓̽̐̾̄͑̚͠ę̴̧̧̨̡̧̯͈̩̣̟̤̲͖̰͍̱̘͔̯͎͓͕̗̖̰͖̓̍̑̏͑͋̈̒̌͂̐̀̽̋̀̏̍̅̌͂̈̎͑͐͊̆̕̕͜͝͝͝ ̴̡̨̲͉̭̣̹͚̰̝͉̙̞̗͎͙̎͆̿̍̓̽̀͆͂̇̊̒̏͆̾̈̉͛̈́͑̓͘͝d̶̢̼͖̹̠̬͈͖̈͊͌͊̆̿̒͋̃̕͠͝i̸̛̙̙̯͍̖̱̫͔͒̾̀̋́͐͊̉̀͐̍̑́̇̉̒̔̈́̏͐͛͛̀͂̄̐̄͆̈́͘͝ͅȩ̴̨̡̢̘̩̯̞̫͍̣̭̱͙̭͈̟͈̬̿̆̀̀̏͋͠ͅ,̶̧̗̥̝̳͌̈̐̐̅̃̎̄̒́͐̅̍͋̃̅̔̅̍͒̕̚͝͝ ̷̨̢̨̭͉͖͚̲͙̙̩̙͇̠̦͙̰̦̘͙̗̩̣͔̪̼̹͖̝̮̣̮͉̌̉͊̌̇̓͌̐̍̄̅̄͆̒̕̚͝͝͝͠à̴̧̡̡̡̧̺̹̲͍͖̞̮̞͖̻̺͍̝̼͍̭̝̬̜̮͗̈̉͂̿́̂̈̽̐͊̈́͂̈͛̚̕͜͝͝ͅg̸̨̧̛̦̭̙͈̪͔͌̎̄͛͋̈́̈́͌̈́̋̈́̑̃̅̓́̐̀̊̿̚̚͝͝a̶̡̧̨̡͎̱̘̥̘̭̺̰̭͍̲̗̱̬͚̓̅͐͂̐̌͒̓̽̓̽͋̇̐̀̌̐̊̂͒́̊͌͗͂̍̓̒̄͑͘̕͝͝͝ͅí̷̧̨̨̡̢͈̳̺͍̼̘̳̻̭̗͖̱̫̼̭̥͍́͌̍̄̐͐͝͠ͅͅn̶̨̡̧̤̺̻͓̳͙̣͈̣̖̙͈̺̹͖͖͓͉̣̖̫̞͔͛͐̇̆̈́͗͆̔̆͐̒̉͛͒́̆̇̃̔͒̽͂̊̉͌́̓͆͒̍̕̕͝͠ͅ

II.

Her humanoid but not human father, Ravalima noted, was a traveler.

He carried a few things in his bag of his. Wooden plates, cups, and some clothes that were mainly for her. The gigantic monster had seeds as well, for what reason she has no idea.

He hunts most of the time, leaving her on a trunk of a very tall treetop only he can reach to. He doesn't bring her, and she guesses it's not child appropriate to bring a five-inched child along to kill innocent animals.

She idly wonders how he can see through that two-eyed mask of his.

Considering how perfectly she sees out of hers, there weren't any problems.

But it was a tall joke!

* * *

X.

* * *

Ravalima tries talking but only the same quiet little chirps and growls come out.

Her attempts attracted the wildest of things she's ever seen in her life.

Animals she's seen and recognized came out squeaking in response. Except, they either had one eye like a cyclops or many other eyes around their whole body.

She distinctly remembers the time she fell out of a tree when she saw a bird with too many eyes snug on its tiny head.

**M****_e_****m_o_r_i_e_s f_a_d_e _e_v_e_r_y _s_e_c_o_n_d_**

She also remembers the warm blood dripping down her fingertips when she saw the corpse of the many-eyed bird flattened to a pancake, eyes popped.

* * *

XI.

* * *

Nestio came back to his temporary nest for the day.

He came back to the sight of Ravalima staring at the bird in her hand, the red fluid coming onto her clothes.

How did she get down from the tree?

Nestio knelt down beside her and lifted her up. The fallen bird fell from her hand with a splat.

A small purr, one little chirp, and soft growl were emitted softly as she tried to bury herself into his body. He responded with one similar.

Then, he grabbed her bloodied hand and lifted his mask. A large, long black tongue protruded from underneath and cleaned most of it off of the small hand.

She squealed.

* * *

**XII.**

* * *

Ravalima thinks she's in another world.

She didn't think much of it but seeing her father and herself, they weren't exactly human.

She always entertained the idea that her father and she were the only ones of their unknown species, wandering the vast land that was still unknown to her.

Well, she was half right.

Unknown vast world? Yes.

Two individuals of an unknown species? No.

How does she know? Well, good question.

Next thing she knew, she finds herself in a bustling city. With people like her.

They all had masks, too. Like her father and hers. Some of shorter horns, others had theirs longer.

The monsters came in all shapes and sizes, too.

She hears laughter and the normal-everyday voices of people talking. Like a city.

Her father tugs her away to a nearby stand. They had several knacks that she didn't recognize or couldn't see.

Though, she did see something that made her blood freeze.

Like an advertisement on full display, tubes of branded human limbs, heads and many more were out on the front. The vendor they stood in front of opened one of the tubes and proceeded to slice one arm and put it on a stick like a kabob.

...What?

.

.

.

_Please, whoever sent me here, I-I can't-_

She quietly gagged on her spit, forcibly swallowing the vomit that came up her throat.

* * *

**VI.**

* * *

"Hey, hey, wanna play?"

"Hey, hey, you look lonely. Wanna play?"

A clawed hand nudged her arm. She looked up to see a delicately designed mask of a slightly taller boy. Or, that's what she thought.

She was getting sick of everyone hiding behind a mask.

The masked child held up a ball, "We can play with my big brother! Come, come!" The kid tugged on her insistently. "I don't want to," Ravalima replied with a chirp but was widely ignored.

No one could understand her, anyways.

"Guzhou!"

She is lost once again in the midst of a bustling city.

* * *

**XIII.**

* * *

_That's not normal_

_._

_._

_._

_Those limbs could be party props to scare children._

_._

_._

_._

_But…_

_._

_._

_._

_Those dismembered parts were on display like meat in a package._

_Like a roasted pig sitting on a plate waiting to be eaten._

_._

_._

_._

_Instead of pigs being eaten, replace them with actual human beings._

_._

_._

_._

_What are we?_

* * *

**XIV.**

**Year _?_**

* * *

Ravalima already knew that the development of young monster children was much more different than a regular human child.

She only produced babbles instead of actual words, even though she looked like a five-year-old in human years.

How old is she, exactly?

Her teeth were abnormally sharp and shark-like. Her chicken feet hands had claws that can cut through shrubs branches easily. Everything seemed fine, albeit strangely far more unusual, but her voice.

The first time she managed to say a word was when her father introduced her to a peculiar ritual.

She was atop on his shoulders, his high posture towering over everything and she felt like she was at the top of the Eiffel Tower again. Ravalima held on tight, her eyes wandering to the archery bow her father held silently.

A thunk, and a small animal cry. The young monster looked over her father's shoulder.

A silver arrowhead pierced through their morning feast's neck.

She gasped quietly.

"When you are old enough, you will be able to hunt." Her towering father knelt down by the side of the struggling animal. "That is why I will teach you what you should do after neutralizing your prey."

He held out a weed, to which she took it carefully, marveling over the sight of it. White flowers decorated the weed.

Fascinating. Pretty.

"Hold it with care, Ravalima." He sighed once he saw her bending one of the stems. "Though the flower is common and widespread, it is a very special kind of weed."

"And it is why you don't simply ruin these."

She chirped sheepishly.

He acknowledged their breakfast lazily but watched her movements sharply. "This weed is called a Vida, a plant that is said to be gifted by the gods. You must pierce the chest of your prey with it."

She fidgeted with the flower, her fingers rubbing the sharp end of the plant. What a weird method. Is this some kind of vampire flower?

She didn't know of many flowers, their special effects, and types. She only knew of the iconic flowers that everyone knew about. Violets, roses, daisies… Those kinds.

"Present your gift to the gods. If they accept, the flower will bloom. Only then it is acceptable to eat the meat." Her father hummed thoughtfully as if thinking on what to say next. "It also helps with draining out the blood."

"Now, remember what I've just said, dear child."

She knelt down by the motionless animal, the bloodied arrowhead right in front of her. The young child patted the soft hair of their to-be food. Shakily, she raised the weed.

It's still alive, she whispered quietly in her mind, seeing the little movement it still made. Its eyes slowly losing its life, and here she was putting it out of its short life.

The animal's small black pupils stared at the hesitant youngling, who swallowed nervously.

Stop it! Stop staring at me like that.

D̴͈̼̑̆́̎̔͝ő̶͍̲̼̃̊̃̚ ̴̡̖̰̻̑ͅͅņ̴̫́̋ͅǒ̷͔͈t̸̤̖͖̮͛͗̎͗͠ͅ ̸̜̝̟̜́͘w̵̭̝̰̖̅͂̊̚o̸͉̾ṟ̴̢̧͕͍̣̼̔̌͆̆r̷̨͖͈͔̭͙̯̀͋̆y̶̱͖͇̜͎͑ͅ,̵̠̬̯͍͈̤̃̀̎͑͗͝͠ͅ ̶͍̠̙̈́͊͒͋̃͆̅i̷̛̭͕̳͓͉̰̬̔̄͊̽̓̚ť̶̳͎͙̖̉̅̒ ̴̺͋̅w̸͉͈̪͔̤͒̽̐͝o̸̢̻͚̰͖͖̍̈̾n̴̖̝͍̳̼͇̉̃͋͝'̶̧̞̠͇̖̙̎͝t̵̡̝͖͈̼̻̺̂̈̇ ̷̧̗͕̃͛̀͋́f̷̨̗̬̎͂͗̉è̶̢̧̮͈͓̽̒͊͜ȩ̴̨̪͓̰̠̞̽̋ĺ̵̛̹̯̔̌̐̏͘ ̸͙̘̟̞̩̓̄a̷͎̺͕̯̥̻͇̋͌̓̂n̸͈̯̥͒̍̓͑̈́͌̕y̶̥̲̖̘̑͊̓͠ ̶̢̣͆̽̀̂p̴̢̣̍̅͂͗̌ả̴̟̪̫͚̙i̶͈̟̖̽̓̆͒̚ń̷̲͓̙̟̔̿́̐

Ravalima put down the flower on the ground, presenting it to watching the audience. She folded her hands in prayer, silently watching the slow panting breathing of the sacrifice, and in one fell swoop, she pierced the weed.

The flower bled into a dark red.

"There is no turning back once you make a choice."

"Is something the matter, Ravalima?"

"I will accept anything that comes my way, as there is no coming back from anything."

She quietly uttered, "It's nothing."

* * *

**XV. **

**Year 2026**

* * *

There was no turning back.

She was out.

_She's escaped._

The human girl let out a strangled sob of relief and anguish. The relief of having escaped the farm that was going to ship her out in two months time and the anguish of having to leave the home she's spent all her life in.

And her memories with- with-! She covered her mouth, trying to muffle the incoming chokes. The alarms rang in the distance.

She spent all her time in the library, decoding every book that was left there. Every gift that was donated to the orphanage by a wealthy power in the outside world.

**"F.A.R.M"**

**"H.A.R.V.E.S.T"**

**"M.O.N.S.T.E.R"**

Her eyes shined with a resolve. The premium brand pushed herself to run farther, away from her beloved house and siblings.

_"I will survive."_

_("What a pretty melody! Let me hear more of it!"_

_"Huh?" An indecisive look. Fingers clenching the instrument in hand. A smile._

_"...Okay." The look was still there. A whisper, "But it's kind of embarrassing so don't tell the others, okay?"_

_The sound of a mandolin sang in the wind, forever imprinting a memory of melancholy.)_

_"For you, I will stay strong."_

_("I can't change the world. What would my death do?")_

* * *

**XVI**.

* * *

Ravalima slept on without a care in the world.

Her ears twitched once her father's footsteps faded out.

Or, well, that's what her father thought at least.

She scrambled out of her blankets, carefully tiptoeing her way out of the camp into the wilderness.

She threw her hands up into the air, "Finally!" After days of her father keeping her inside, she had the chance to actually come out unattended too.

For what matter on why her father was keeping her away from the bright blue sky's eyes, she didn't know. Ravalima idly skipped around with a Vida in hand, waving it around. Everywhere she stepped, footprints were left behind.

Exactly like a chicken.

The compulsions of having a child's body meant having the emotions as well, she noticed. Ravalima gave into the childish excitement coursing through her veins and jumped around, running through shrubs and Vida flowers.

Her feet gave her an extra boost to the point she was running at a speed she's didn't think was possible for her.

She couldn't help but let a high pitched squeal escape her throat as she just ran around in many directions.

With all this running around, she's probably not even near the camp anymore.

Then, she bumped into something. Ravalima yelped. The thing she bumped into shrieked as she herself yelped when she fell on her bottom.

"Hey! Watch where you're-" Her words died on her tongue, her eyes widening at the sight in front of her.

"You- You're one of those demons!" The human girl stuttered, gripping her bag straps tightly. She was dirty, and dried blood painted her legs. The fearful scrutiny made her step back.

The only response Ravalima could muster was a small, "What?" as she tilted her head in confusion.

A real human person! Her human side celebrated in happiness. Here, right in front of her, was an actual living human being!

And this girl definitely wasn't hanging like a pig for sale.

This deflated her giddiness in an instant.

If humans were at the bottom of the food chain, would that mean she and the others like herself were at the top?

The ones that ate everything on the chain, connecting everything and anything.

"You're an actual human person!" Ravalima blurted out excitedly. The human girl sent her an affronted look, her hands going into a defensive stance

Ravalima noted the numbers 73584 imprinted on the girl's neck. For a second, she was whisked away into her mind, her human side fluttering with familiarity.

"I…" The girl swallowed visibly. "I have to go. Don't follow me. Don't hurt me. Please don't…"

"Why would I do that?" Ravalima grazed the sharp end of the vida idly. She wiggled her three toes, watching them in feigned interest. The girl didn't say anything, her mouth twitching as if she wanted to say something. In fact, her whole body screamed her noticeable anxiety.

Ravalima blanked out for a second, a whole new facade appeared behind her mask. "Hey, hey you're running away, right? From the farm?" Her mouth ran on, her childish playfulness no longer there. "You should try to avoid some places. Like, my dad. He's around somewhere. You should be careful."

Ravalima was shaken back to reality, and she stood back up. She waved to the human girl-73584-with the pretty weed in hand.

* * *

**XVII.**

* * *

"Where," His mouth went dry. He adjusted his hat for the millionth time. "Am I?" He was shaken up terribly.

He thought he was finally being adopted by his new family but instead, he was met with darkness before waking up in the middle of an empty town.

Then, after that, music started.

A sign, he remembers faintly, read: "Rules: Music. Monsters. Survive."

The girl who dragged him here, to this windmill, heaved a large breath. Her bright blue eyes contrasted nicely with her dark skin and light hair.

"You're in Goldy Pond. A secret hunting ground for those monsters."

* * *

Cross-posted from AO3. The focus of the fic will mainly be on archive of our own, as that is where I am mostly spending my time on.

The only difference here is that I combined all three chapters (plus the newly published chapter 3) into one chapter.


	2. Chapter 2 - Runaways

**I.**

She was running out of food.

The supply of bread and canned food lasted enough for the days to come, but the needs of necessities were running out quick.

Isabella twisted the pen cap and sighed. There was no point in resting if she was still near that damned plantation.

Maybe if she was far enough, perhaps she can find a nice nap.

"William Minerva," Isabella mumbled, warily. It's been less than five days and she misses her soft mattress. "William Minerva, I hope to see you at shelter B06-32."

Unfortunately, all her thoughts of sleeping and searching for William Minerva were cut short as another wild demon screeched.

She had finally escaped the pact of ravenous demons chasing after her.

Isabella released a heavy sigh, her back laid against the bark of the tree, tensed. Her brown eyes watching the bounding pack going elsewhere.

When they were out of her sight, like a puppet cut from its strings she collapsed face down on the large thick branch.

"Thank you," She whispered, her eyes watching the dancing rays of sunlight peaking from the leaves of the tree. "Thank you for keeping me alive…"

Then, she blacked out.

Isabella woke up to a small mask with two eye holes staring back at her.

She let out a high-pitched shriek, which in turn the latter emitted a low pitched whine. They dropped the flower, kicking up their unusual shaped feet in the air as they landed on their bottom. Then, their tiny body proceeded to hang over the branch.

It would be unfortunate if the demon child were to fall from such a large height.

The Grace Field escapee gingerly grasped the demon by its sleeve, positioning it in a more balanced perch on the tree.

"Thank you!" Isabella was startled by the squeaky voice that emitted from the tiny demon as it waved the weed.

It looked harmless, she noted, but looks can be deceiving. The love and playfulness that was produced by Mama and Sister Elizabeth over the years were examples. Those memories were now faint and blurry, the kind smiles replaced with something more sinister.

"Ne, ne, you have any food?" The demon asked casually. On cue, its stomach growled insistently. Isabella stiffened, the crushing weight that finally dawned on her.

'_Maybe I should've let you drop.' _

"No."

"Oh." The child deflated, fiddling with the weed. "I haven't seen my father in _days_!"

"...Oh." Isabella echoed. The urge to _get away now _was pushing her to continue on her search but for some reason, she _can't_.

The demon nodded, a tiny claw scratching its mask in a sheepish manner. "Mmhm! I think it's kind of my fault. I ran away from the camp 'cuz I wasn't allowed to go out at all. Now, it's been a long time since I've seen my father. I wonder what he's doing."

Yes, this was actually a _splendid _reason to continue on and never look back. If an intelligent demon was out here, roaming the forest outskirts of the plantations and looking for its offspring it would give her the push to get out of this stupid forest.

Isabella couldn't die here, even after when she escaped from Mama when she saw the gap between the orphanage and the outskirt lands.

_She promised Leslie, after all._

She brought herself to her feet, her limbs sore. The plantation-born girl ignored it, ignored the demon's questionable actions as she hefted up her bag. Isabella pulls out the rock-tied-rope she used in her escape and aimed it at the nearby branch. As it successfully wrapped around the bark, she pulled at it and brightly smiled.

Isabella let herself fall forward, manipulating the rope to pull her forward to the next branch.

However, she didn't foresee that the small demon would grab onto her.

"No!" It hugged her leg, its claws gripping firmly if not a little tight to her calf as Isabella tried to shake the child off of her.

It was a comical sight. Hysterical and unbelievable that someone-anyone or any_thing_ that can come across the pair can't believe both prey and predator were together.

**II.**

Nestio destroyed the camp in a fit of rage when he realized Ravalima's presence was nowhere in the area.

He gathered the small items and abandoned the rest as he set out in search of his only offspring.

The emotions and hallucinations clouded his senses.

What if a Wild devoured her already? _Whatifwhatifwhat_if

Nestio takes a big sniff out of the wide-open mouth of the ninth dead demon corpse he's killed in a short amount of time. The thing was clean, her scent wasn't anywhere on it.

He kicks it away from him in disgust, resuming his search. He leaves a sea of carnage behind him as he goes on.

**III.**

Ravalima was living the dream.

She clutched the leg of the human girl who swung from branch to branch with the help of exploding water bottles that launched like rockets.

Every time a bottle was thrown and launched, she couldn't help but let out a squeal of amazement at the creation. It catapulted a rope from the inside, a rock tied around it to prevent the rope from falling out and hooked on its desired place.

Ravalima never saw such things from her memories! It was _amazing_!

"Huh?" She glanced up, staring at the human girl. "Why did we stop?" The human girl brought a finger to her lips, shushing her. Ravalima formed an 'O' with her mouth and vigorously bobbed her head.

Down below were humanoid demons and other demons that looked similar to wolves in a pack.

"Did you find it?" Ravalima hears, thanks to her enhanced hearing.

"No, but 73584's scent is near."

"Well, find it then! There is an unwelcome visitor who is roaming around, and we'd best get 73584 without a _scratch._"

73584, the human girl, prepares another bottle launcher. Ravalima, the one who gives in to her childish whims, grabs onto her bag. The escapee gives her a bewildered look, her posture still tense and uncomfortable, but doesn't say anything.

She fires it, and they were off with the pack of wolves following them on the ground.

**IV Bonus: Human Meat**

After getting all of the things her father needed, they were back on the road when the sky turned from day to night.

By the time she thinks was midnight, they stopped by a hallow cave that seemed to go endlessly. Her father quickly sets up camp, putting down his spears and bags on the dirt ground. He didn't look at her, or, well, his masked-face wasn't in her direction but his long forefingers pinched her clothing and placed her on a plain white blanket.

He proceeds to take out the little wooden tableware.

Oh, and don't forget the capsules of human limbs.

Ravalima thinks about how fast the day had gone by so quickly. Just early afternoon she discovered there were more of masked monsters and their main dish were-Oh, I don't know, _humans_.

_That probably means humanity is at the bottom of the food chain now, 'ey?_

Well, that is assuming _they_ were the only superior race at the top.

The worst part was, however, if she was one of them she'd have to eat. And she was a human in her past life.

Was that considered cannibalism?

Just then, her father drops five _very human _fingers with a splat.

For once, she's glad she has a mask on because it hid the light gag.

_But it smelled so good._

When she was human, looking at a piece of raw meat didn't bother her in the slightest. Cooking it. Eating it. All the while knowing it was once a living, breathing sentient being.

"Eat," He taps her plate with one hand, the other holding another with what looked like a whole human brain. "I used to love eating the fingers as a youngling."

She lightly nodded, putting up the act of an obedient child while mentally screaming, _Holyfuckingshit that's an actual brain _and _Are you crazy it's bloody and raw._

A part of her brain-Oh my god-supplied her with a small flashback to a conversation she had with a friend, "_Chicken brains taste like chicken nuggets, but a bit fatty though."_

Ravalima gave a shudder, despite the fingers on the plate was her midnight snack.

_Food was food, she recalled a voice faintly. She realized she vaguely remembers the owner._

There was blood. So much blood.

On her father's clothes, staining his mask as a tongue protruded out and licked it clean.

Reluctantly, she grabbed a pinky. Ravalima could see the ridges and lines that made up the finger. There was no fingernail, only the bleeding pink space that the nail once protected.

She quickly shoved it in her mouth and chewed it. She couldn't help but wince when she felt the bones crack in her mouth and bits and pieces going down her esophagus.

Ravalima handed her plate to her father, the childish whine escaping her throat. The gesture of wanting seconds.

It wasn't… _bad_.

But it certainly wasn't something she'd get use to.

**V.**

The windmill girl, as he dubbed her, promptly told him to stay put in the windmill until the coast was all clear.

Meaning, if you don't hear any music, you're free to do whatever.

The music was loud and obnoxious. Despite having the blaring speakers down the hill of the windmill, the shaken boy hugged his legs.

Windmill girl spoke out, gently, softly, "They won't find us here. I promise." She soothed.

That did nothing, his back slumped against the brick interior wall of the tower. The soft black hat laid next to him, scratches covered the once unblemished hat his foster mother had given him.

_Was it all a lie? The adoption? Our life?_

The nine-year-old boy closed his light brown eyes shut.

"_You're in Goldy Pond. A secret hunting ground for those monsters."_

He recalled the towering figure with high posture. A flash of black, and sharp lengthy fingers that _split a boy younger than himohpleasedon'tseeus-_

"What-" He struggled to form his words, "What are those monsters?" Wait, that wasn't it. "I mean-"

The dark-skinned girl's mouth twitched into a small smile, but it quickly disappeared. "Demons. Monsters. Or Gods, as humankind had once revered them as. They survive by devouring the flesh of humankind. You and other millions of plantation-born children are raised to appease their appetite."

The windmill girl then added, in a low mumble, "Every two months children are shipped here. Forcibly dragged, or bought by those Poachers." He was startled by the bark of a laugh coming from the girl. "You seem to be one of the lucky ones, though. You have any memory of what happened before coming here, hm?"

"I…"

_("To get one outside of the 6-year-old and 12-year-old range, Lord Bayon. It is unlikely." A curve of a malicious smile. The sepia haired woman pushed him towards the towering monster. _

"_Lucas, this is the Lord and aristocrat Bayon. He's been keeping an open eye for you, and he will be bringing you somewhere very special.")_

He croaked out, "No, no I don't remember."

She gives him a pitiful look with her icy colored eyes, "You're just like all the others, then."

* * *

I saw this picture on Tumblr with the full score trio. I think it's where Emma and Norman are surrounding Ray in a little corner. That's kind of what reminds me of what Isabella was going through with Ravalima.


	3. Chapter 3 - Predators

**I**

The petite demon child canted her head, small three-fingered hands tugging the human's hand like a needy child.

During the part of their journey, Ravalima was lulled to sleep by the nice tune 73584 had sung. It was then she woke up here, with a tall skinny female human standing over her.

_I know you, _Ravalima wanted to say, _Do you know me?_

The human put a strand of sepia brown hair behind her ear, delicate fingers avoiding the temples of the glasses perched on her heart-shaped face.

Ravalima wrapped her arms around the human woman's legs, small sniffles muffled behind the mask. Tears leaked out of the eye holes and slid down the bony mask.

"Why can't I-" She whispers, frustrated. "Why can't I remember _everything _?"

Her human memories, her previous life- why can't she remember them? Fragments of her memories still linger in the depths of her mind but everything was gone. Blurred. Hazy.

_ʎq sǝoƃ ǝɯᴉʇ sɐ ǝpɐɟ sǝᴉɹoɯǝW_

Her hug tightened, desperation kicking in. The human's face was shadowed and blank. Ravalima clung her body around them, afraid of them disappearing any second.

_"__Is this… the end?" _The woman rasped out, the smell of the sea pouring out of her mouth. Droplets slid down Ravalima's mask as she watched. _"There is no way of turning back now, is there?"_

"No!" Ravalima climbed to the shoulders, screeching in the human's ear. "It's not the end!" Tears sprung out at full force. "There may be no more turning back to rewind time, but you can start over! We can start over again! We'll make this life the happiest! _Listen to me _!"

Ravalima opened her mouth to fire off but she stopped abruptly when dark brown eyes met her swampish inhuman eyeballs. They were blank and dead, doubt and grief all mixed in one.

_"__There's nothing for you to save me," _She garbled out. Ravalima could feel lukewarm liquid touch her skin and she gasped. The woman collapsed on herself as she melted like an ice cube. _"I'm sorry."_

Ravalima scrambled to her feet and attempted to scoop up the water in her hands.

There was no human, no humanoid figure left standing before her.

"I don't want to forget. Please don't let me forget!" She threw a temper tantrum as sobs racked her whole body. Her adult emotions overpowered her child body as she slapped the dirt ground numerous times and screamed her head off.

"I don't- I don't want to forget my human memories! P-Please come back!"

Silence was her only answer. The puddle remained unmoving as it always was.

Was it?

The terrain around her vanishes, leaving her between the worlds of day and night.

_Ravalima vomits a sticky red puddle that tasted like salt water._

**II.**

Her memories return.

**"****ǝɯᴉʇ ʇxǝu 'uᴉɐƃɐ ʇᴉsᴉʌ ǝɯoƆ" **A petite demon whispers, the gigantic dragon behind it huffs. Black and white koi circles around the hovering demon. The changing sunset fades into a star-filled night; the darkness bleeds to a blue cloudless sky. **" ˙ʇᴉ ʎoɾuǝ I 'ǝɔuǝsǝɹd ɹno⅄"**

**III.**

Isabella hums her song, the soft sound echoing in the tunnel they stayed in.

Dark circles formed around her eyes as she and her demon companion traveled onward.

She'd gotten attached to the child. They reminded her of her younger siblings. The childlike innocence that they all carried, the untouched naivety that they will all have until the real world punches and beats them to a hard shell.

They've slept for more than twenty-four hours, Isabella notes. She realizes she has no choice but to piggyback the kid.

Do all demons sleep this long as this one child did?

In the spirit land, dozens of children giggle and smile. They, too, have numbers tattooed on their neck.

The flap of her bag was opened for the head of the child to peek out. Their body was in the bag, fitting in nicely. The luggage was surprisingly light.

Isabella hums her song once again.

**IV.**

"What-" Her eyes bulged out of their sockets, "_ What _caused this?"

In the middle of it all, she was staring at the carnage of dead demons.

Ravalima's nose twitched in her sleep.

**V.**

An uncanny scent lingers in the air faintly.

Ravalima was here at one point.

_But there is another, _Nestio sniffs at the unfamiliar smell. The _mouth-watering, delicious _smell that attacked his enhanced smell.

He has to have it. _This delicious smell._

**VI.**

"Found them." One of the dog-like demons says, pointing to an entrance beneath the bloodsucker trees. "Should I drag it out?"

"No, it's fine, stay where you are." The tall farm demon pulls out a large cleaver and takes thundering steps towards the small hole, cutting away at the bloodsucker branches.

"Are you alright, not hurt?" The farm worker's voice cascaded into a soft, gentle tone as if they were speaking to a scared child. The demon received silence as an answer.

"Is it dead?" The upright worker ignores the wolven-tracker as it tilts its head.

"Let us return you home. You must've been _so afraid." _They rip away the last of the colony.

Instead of the premium grade cattle, the plantation workers see a stuffed doll spread out at the entrance of the cave.

"A decoy, how clever." The tracker comments, "It's intelligence is impressive."

"Two scents are within the tunnel system. One of which is Premium Grade 73584 and the other is of a powerful monster." One of the trackers exclaims, sweat beading on its mask.

"Secure the tunnels. Whatever happens, we mustn't allow 73584 to be eaten. It is a prized feast that _He _will have during the Tifari in weeks time."

* * *

**Nestio: Oh boy, I found my daughter but I gotta get this delicious meat first**


	4. Interlude

**I.**

"**'ʞɔɐq ǝɯoɔlǝM" **The one-eyed demon murmurs. Their golden ornaments clink and clutter as it stands upright, no longer hovering. The dragon huffs, the giant eye on its forehead opening slowly. Before long, it takes flight.

"**¿ʎpɐǝɹ noʎ ǝɹ∀"**

Ravalima tries to say something but the ground below her unceremoniously crumbles. A scream for help dies in her throat as she plummets down to her nightmares.

"_Let's play."_

**II.**

The sky was strangely bright for a white world.

Outlines of clouds, the rays of sunlight scattered across the strange white projection. Tattered feet gently touched the white surface on every step.

The woman walked endlessly down the infinite world. Her body all skin and bones, pale and brittle. The only thing that covered her with decency was a plain white nightgown.

Here, the projection was at her feet. She can touch it, walk on it even.

What she can't do, however, is go back to it. To bathe in it.

**III.**

Her feet stop inches away from the oasis. It was the only color in this pure white world. A yellow color, like pure gold dust.

"_...Thirsty…" _

She bends down to cup the golden water, only for the liquid to not touch her at all. The woman tilted her head, obviously confused. She went in for a second time.

_("We all die at the end of the day.")_

**IV.**

She was unresponsive when the floppy-eared creature shoved a water basin up to her face.

It was a small thing like it came out of the cartoon. The creature was pitch black, save for the white tips of its fingers and grinning black mask.

"_I'm not thirsty anymore," _She rasped, her bony hand lightly patting the creature's head. It closed its eyes and nuzzled. "_Please." _

_The golden water had the smell of the ocean._

**V.**

"**Y҉o҉u҉r҉ ҉n҉a҉m҉e҉ ҉i҉s҉ ҉C҉a҉r҉o҉l҉.҉"**

"_I don't understand you."_

**VI.**

She drank the golden water out of the basin.

Her world fell apart as long-fingered hands reached out to her from the white ground. Each of them grabbed onto her. From her arms to her legs.

Her body was dragged down to the earth.

"_**C҉a҉r҉o҉l҉.҉.҉.҉"**_A childish voice emitted from the floppy-eared creature. The white pinpricks that were its eyes dimmed as it watched her vanish beneath the white cracks.

"_That's not my name."_

"**¿ʇᴉ sᴉ ʇɐɥʍ 'uǝɥ┴"**

**VII.**

The white world was no longer white. It was filled with grays and blacks. All faded. It scattered across the white world, the projection at her feet, as the sun and clouds gained gray outlines.

It all begins to crack beneath her.

She breathes out a heavy sigh, her body finally giving out. As her eyelids slowly close, the last thing she saw was a bounding small figure bolting towards her.

_Oh, how vivid her dreams are being._

"Oh nonono. Wake up! WAKE UP!" It slapped a small clawed hand on her face. At the same time, it cupped her face with its talon-like hands.

A strange creature like the last one. It was pitch black like the other. No, this one was a light gray humanoid with talon hands and feet. It's short length platinum hair was bright as the golden water.

_The eyeholes on its mask were vertical_, she noted, dazed as her energy began to leave her.

"Hey, hey! Don't fall asleep now! I've been looking for you since we've gotten separated." The child babbled on how the situation of their separation went.

"_Sepa...rated?" _She mumbled incoherently.

The child nodded, "Yeah. I don't even know how we're here when we haven't gone through the actual entrance. Maybe it's the work of _him?" _They mumbled the last part, thinking.

"Oh, oh! I forgot to tell you my name. You know, so we don't have to act ignorantly around each other without our names." They plop down beside her, helping her sit up as she struggled.

_How long has it been since she's had a real conversation?_

"My name's Ravalima." Ravalima went in her personal bubble. The sunken woman made no move to retreat. "I want your name now."

"_I don't have one." _Lie.

"That's a lie." Ravalima received the same expressionless face. "Everyone and everything has to go by an identity. It's important. It's _special_."

"_We're all nameless by birth, so what is the point?"_

She's merely a corpse by this stage.

Ravalima grumbled under her mask, her hair bouncing. She makes a drawing in the dirt. "Names have power." She draws two stick figures, one with her name and another with nothing. "It gives us the power to get someone's attention, to call them something we can remember them by."

"_They don't remember me." _The woman cries, wet tears sliding down her pale face.

"They do. They'll always remember you. A name is not so easily forgotten. Whether you think you've forgotten it, a name will stay with you." Ravalima went quiet but then, she added, "I remember you." She whispers.

The woman in the nightgown stands abruptly, grabbing the child by their shoulders. Clawed hands automatically grip her arms in defense.

"_You-" _She stutters, as sobs racked her figure. The white world bleeds into color. "_How could you remember me if we've only met now?"_

_Why?_

Ravalima pushed her off. She fell back as the sound of splashing water penetrated her senses. Salty water entered her lungs when she flailed around to get back up to the surface.

_Why?_

_Blue, not white._

"_I don't want to die again."_

The sun's rays reflect on her face from the surface. Yellow and bright.

"Because we're one and the same, Carol."

**VIII.**

"Welcome back to the land of the living. I thought you'd never wake up." Ravalima joked as Carol sits up.

The grass that she sat on tickled her legs. The green carpet that was grass extended infinitely in this strange dream.

"...What are you?" Carol asks, her brown eyes wandering to the cloudless blue sky.

Ravalima tsked, "I don't know, but since I'm not human I just refer to myself as 'it'"

"It seems so… fictional."

Ravalima laughs in response, talon-like hands up in the air as she wheezed. She wiped an imaginary tear from her mask, "Yes, it does, actually!"

**IX.**

"Let's dance, my doppelganger."

"'Doppelganger'?" Ravalima spits in confusion. "I'm like, not even half your size!"

It was true as the 'It' child only reached to her kneecaps.

"I'll carry you then."

"What? No!"

Carol ended up carrying her next life, anyway.

"What's that song called again?" Carol asks quietly as she twirls. The song had a melancholic mood, but a tone of hope.

"A fictional lullaby."

Carol and Ravalima hummed in sync.

**X.**

"Are you happy, Carol?" Her reincarnation asks as they sit away from the golden oasis.

Carol lurches backward, briefly stunned. She answers with a tight smile, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Why… well, I got to meet someone like you. You gave me love in the darkest of times."

**XI.**

"I have to go soon."

Carol frowns, her eyebrows furrow, "I do too."

"Will you return here?" The reincarnated child asks with child-like innocence, the frustrations and fears were so noticeable.

"There's no place for me to return to anymore. So, even though I want to return," Carol's eyelids droop over her brown eyes. She folds her hands in prayer on her lap. "I can't."

Suddenly, she hysterically laughs.

"Plus, you're me, aren't you? You continue our story, kiddo." A genuine smile that lightened the colorful world.

Ravalima goes to say, "I promise," but instead she nods, saying, "I'll remember you."

_She passes with a smile on her face as her hair fades to brittle white._

The dimension shatters.

* * *

**Fanfic also on ao3 (main)**


	5. Chapter 5 - A start of Family Gatherings

Spilled wine is not the best, right?

...says a person who doesn't drink wine herself

* * *

**(I.) Main Headquarters | Before the Departure of the Plantation Workers**

It was only weeks away from the Tifari Ceremonies.

It was also weeks ago since one of the cattle children escaped from the high premium farm grounds, Grace Field.

"What brings you here to the premium farms, Lord Pupo? You do have to know of the crisis that the plantation is going through."

"Uh, yes. I know." Pupo shifted uneasily in his chair. He sat in a seat across from Duke Iverk with all of his servants waiting all around them.

It was getting quite uncomfortable, not that he'd say it out loud.

"I understand that H҉i҉s҉ meal has escaped the farm, but that is not what I am here to discuss!" He sputtered, nervously. There was chaos everywhere, that he knew. With the Premium farms losing H҉i҉s҉ meal for the Tifari, squadrons were put out every week going in and out only to find no trace.

In the midst of all that chaos, his daughter went missing several years back. Pupo was jumpy at every news that concerned his eldest.

And to this day, no trace has been found.

"My eldest daughter went missing a few years back, Duke Iverk. From when I- no, _we _had last seen her was with your son." Pupo says quietly, accusing. The funny looking demon, usually timid and tame, was in contrast to his usual attitude.

If demons had eyebrows, Duke Iverk would've raised one. Unsurprisingly in a monotone voice, "As has my son."

"She and Young Nestio had been lovers for less than a decade. And their disappearances add up to the same month and time and-" A couple of drops of tears leaked out of Pupo's eye hole.

"I just wanted to believe that you know about her whereabouts."

"No." The Duke folds his hands on the table. "I don't, nor do I know of where my son is."

Pupo perked up. He slammed his hands on the table, making the red wine on Iverk's side spill. "Before I had arrived here, I had received rumors that young Nestio is getting himself involved in the search for the Grace Field Escapee."

Duke Iverk regarded the undeterred Lord Pupo who was adamant in his discovery. He rolled his eyes. "I've never seen you as one to believe mere gossip."

The second smallest regent head kept slapping the table. The newly refilled wine collapsed on the white tablecloth once again, this time going on the Duke's formal robe.

"Aye, but they mentioned Nestio's name in conversation along with my eldest! They say he's chasing after the escapee. Leaving behind multiple carcasses of the Wild."

"Mmm."

"I've checked in with the Tracker Squadrons, as well. They confirm that Nestio is the cause of the multiple carnages in the forest. For what reasons is unknown."

He sat back down, sighing, putting his hands on his mask. "If Nestio is here all by himself, then where is _she_? Is she missing in the forest that Nestio has to create a whole scene?"

"Perhaps not, Lord Pupo." He jolted upright. "However, as you are so adamant on finding your heir, why don't you go with one of the squadrons yourself? You can ask my son easily, face to face."

"But," Pupo starts, unsurely, "He's _your _son. Why don't _you _talk to him?"

A relationship between a parent and child was supposed to be close, supposed to nurture the relationship between the two emotionally and physically. The relation between Duke Iverk and Nestio, however, was tight and distant.

Pupo assumes the reason Nestio had run away with his daughter a few years back due to the death of his mother, which affected both members of the family greatly.

_But his daughter promised to come back if things went south._

"...I admit I'm concerned for my son, but I've learned to not keep him in front of me despite the feud a couple of decades ago." Underneath his mask, Lord Pupo grimaced.

"If you wish to go after him, the squadron is waiting. A Sleipnir has already been prepared."

**II. Present Time**

The Sleipnir threw its head back. Lord Pupo awkwardly held on to the reins, more used to the carriage that pulls him to his destination.

_I feel like he's only done this to chuckle at me._

Most of the Demon population stayed away from forests such as these since there were packs of Wilds everywhere. It was only a reminder of what would happen if you didn't consume human meat for a long time.

"We've found them."

"Already?" Pupo blinked incredulously.

The worker nodded, bowing his head. "A few days ago, the strong scent of the escapee was lingering in these underground tunnel of dead vampire trees. Another scent was reported as well, supposedly the individual you are searching for."

"Ah, yes."

And now, they anxiously wait.

**III.**

"Catch it!"

Isabella ran as hard as she can, the footsteps of her pursuers behind her. It barked out orders and soon other footsteps stomping on the tunnel ground echoed.

_Left! _She skids to the left and keeps at her pattern. In front of her path, one of the wolf demons stood on its hind legs ready to pounce. She readies her body and dives under the demon and presumes her pace.

"Huh?!"

"You idiot! You let it get away!"

A smile twitched on her lips.

"Well, I didn't think it was capable of doing _that _!"

An undecipherable order came from one of her pursuers, the fleeting blurred glimpse right behind her from where she was just a few seconds ago.

_Left!_

_Right!_

Her lungs inflamed her chest. She ignored it and kept running. The weight that was the demon child bounced in her bag.

_Should I just leave them where the demons can just take them? _She shut her eyes tight, still running. She couldn't. She can't. _I can't-_

Suddenly, Isabella felt movement at her back. Tiny claws grabbed on the thin inside of the pack, moving. It got to the point where they pried open the zipper and popped out.

The round mask with the iconic vertical eyeholes that spelled 'demon' blinked their eyes. Short hair was a birds nest after sleeping for so long. Dirtied and no longer had its shine.

The chase was quiet and anticlimactic, Ravalima noted silently while gripping the leather, but she can still hear the distant barks of orders at every end of the cave.

"...You never told me your name, you know?" She whispers, "My name is Ravalima."

A long silence. "Isabella." A whisper.

She smiled.

"Why are you running?"

"My pursuers. They found me." A curt reply.

"Ah."

Ravalima almost fell out of the bag just as Isabella turns sharp left. She yelps loudly.

"Sorry! Sorry."

_Inside voice. C'mon, inside voice._

"...You fell asleep and never woke up, you know?" Isabella says softly, albeit furious. "But I didn't want to leave you behind. I couldn't. You remind me of the siblings I've left behind."

_I abandoned my siblings to their deaths._

"But," Isabella utters a slight choke in her sentence, "In everything that I am doing, as I'm nearing to where I'm going, I thought, 'Why don't I just leave them behind?'"

Ravalima stays quiet.

"I chose not to leave you in the end. Maybe if you hadn't woken up I would've left you to fend for yourself."

She cringes at the truth of Isabella's words, though Ravalima feels like the bond between them grew in such a short time.

And she wanted to stay. She wanted to see the shelter, she wanted to tell James Ratri _everything-_

But she had to cut it short, Ravalima realizes. As much as she wanted to follow Isabella, she practically ditched her father instead of actually saying put in their camp.

_He probably killed everything in the area, _she thinks back to her father's one fit when she encountered her first wild demon.

Ravalima resorts to jumping out of the bag after wiring every possible scenario that can go wrong with one move.

_Every choice that is made, every possibility that anyone can think of, is separated in paths. _

Or, alternate universes, as the religious figure that every demon knows about had said to her before she departed to the Seven Walls.

_Question is, how the hell did I get there without an entrance?_

"I'll slow them down." She says to Isabella before jumping, "I'm a child, they'll go to me first." _or throw me aside, _she adds in a mumble.

Isabella, Runaway escapee from Grace Field House, a supposed future Mama of Grace Field, and the biological mother of Ray, protested. "You don't know that! This world isn't as you perceive it."

"I know." She readies her tiny body to jump. Carol's memories resurfaced. A memory of jumping out of a moving car played out. "That's why you should keep going to where you're heading. We're almost at the end of the cave, so you'll get there before they catch you."

And Ravalima jumps, running the opposite direction of Isabella, off. No last farewell.

**IV.**

She stares at Isabella's retreating figure. As she disappeared, Ravalima resumes walking back through the maze. She runs her fingers through the knots in her hair, pulling a few strands of white locks.

Ravalima tsks.

She spots a weed growing out of one of the cracks in the cave and yanks it out. The childish excitement was no longer there, only replaced by Carol's conscience and adult mind.

So Ravalima just shrugs and kicks her chicken feet up in the air, marching to who knows where. She even waves the weed for effect, like a marching stick.

**_"ssǝlǝsn ǝɯoɔǝq llᴉʍ ǝƃpǝlʍouʞ ɹnoʎ ssǝl ǝɥʇ 'ǝɹnʇnɟ ǝɥʇ ʇnoqɐ ʎɹɹoʍ noʎ ǝɹoɯ ǝɥʇ ʇɐɥʇ ɹǝqɯǝɯǝɹ op" _**_The one-eyed deity sits in a criss-cross position in the air._

_"Are you saying that I just avoid changing more than I'm already am?"_

**_"˙pǝǝpuI"_**

_Don't change anything, for better or worse. _She reminds herself, humming a song.

She was a sitting duck.

_She can't do anything, or else _**He **_will put her into a deep sleep._

And she didn't want to go to the Seven Walls again. That was a scary place that shook her up.

Ravalima runs into a cave wall face first. It was bumpy and hard. At least, that's what she thought.

The demon child looks up.

A demon that was as tall as her father towered over her on its hind legs. Their hands were massive claws that were sharpened like needles, the same for their feet.

_They looked like a Dobermann_, her mind blanks suddenly, _and they're drooling!_

The demon then releases an echoing howl.

**V.**

"You say it has been a few days?" Lord Pupo asks, atop his stallion. The four-legged Tracker nodded.

"Yes, but we get daily reports in whether or not when they find something."

He nods, "I see." He's seen the devices they carried, the distorted voices that crackle in. It was nice to know that Lady Noum's technology was spreading.

A loud crackle came from the receiver, Lord Pupo perked up.

_"A youngling! A child!" _The tracker on the other end screeched.

_"Ugh, let me go!"_

"A child? In the middle of this forest?" The Five Regent Head mutters, cocking his head.

"I apologize if this is not what you expected, my lord, but-"

"No, no. It's all alright."

"Ask the kid if they've seen the escapee."

_"What do mean escapee? I didn't see anyone!" _A struggle.

_"A lie!" _The Tracker unit shrieked on the receiving end, _"You lie! You hold the scent of the Premium Quality 73584!"_

_"Don't touch me!"_

Lord Pupo grimaced. There was nothing he could do to stop the struggle, as the guard unit was with him and the others were on the search. Though now, a child is mixed in their midst who carries the smell of the human escapee.

_"I smell it! I smell it-"_

A choked squeak emitted from the child.

The line went dead and the whole area went silent. It went back on.

_"Don't touch her."_

A commanding, monotone voice comes in. Lord Pupo faces a moment of deja vu to his conversation with Duke Iverk.

He then realizes that on the other end was Nestio. He also realizes that the child may be-

"Tell your units to have no harm come to the both of them. Use restraints on the individual if needed. Don't do anything to the child."

**VI.**

"Don't touch her."

Nestio pointed the bloodied spear tip to the worker's mask. The gaping mouth of the female tracker conveyed her shock.

He promptly ripped his daughter from their hand, delicately weaving her cradled form in his clothes. He ignored her sputterings.

_He'll deal with her punishment later._

He purred.

The female demon stood on her hind legs, baring her teeth. Other two demons came behind them, blocking.

_"Lord Nestio, I suggest you come with us." _comes from the device, loud and clear. _"If you don't, we will have no choice but to resort to force."_

* * *

**FF . net Chapters: 5**

**ao3 Chapters: 7**


	6. Chapter 6 - Decisions

**I.**

* * *

Ravalima's mind whirred at the recent events that had occurred recently.

Actually, it was giving her a migraine. She grunted in discomfort, yellowish eyes wincing at the bright sun that cracked through one of the slits in the tunnels.

Her father's identical eyes swiveled to her, concern behind the holes of his mask. Ravalima patted his clothes in response, shaking her head.

Less than a half an hour ago her father had willingly gone with the unit of wolf demons. She stayed secured under the layer of clothing she'd been stuffed in, with only her head out as a reminder she was there.

* * *

**II.**

* * *

"What the friggin' fuck am I doing here?!" Ravalima yells in the nothingness of the dimension that was day and night. "This isn't possible!"

The trek to exit out of the tunnels took its toll on Ravalima, making her fall asleep from the inactivity of staying in her father's clothes and the awkward silence of the group.

All in all, there was nothing to cure her boredom.

"This," She exaggeratingly points at the beating sun at the cloudless sky, "is not real!" and points at the endless vast plain of water of night, "And this—_this _..." Her voice cracked, dying down in volume.

She kicked at the starry night sky. Droplets of water splashed on her, though it left her dry like she was waterproof. "Oh, who am I kidding? This is getting stupid."

No Demon god. No demon dragon. Just a vast landscape of two opposites reflecting each other.

_(... "You were in a comatose state!" …)_

Isabella's voice rang in her head, the conversation coming back to her. She breathed a deep sigh, flopping on her back and closed her eyes.

When Ravalima opened her eyes, she didn't expect a very tall form standing over her.

It looked like the demon god but it was taller. It no more had the child-like appearance but appeared more like an adult demon.

Like a King standing over all his peasants.

**"—ɐq ǝɯoɔlǝM"**

Ravalima releases a startled scream.

* * *

**III.**

* * *

"We are here." The farm worker announces, their black ears twitching. Nestio nods, adjusting the bag over his shoulders. He's careful of his movements, avoiding the slumbering form of Ravalima that was cradled in his robes.

The worker steps out first. Nestio glances at the duo behind him, who made no move.

One of them spoke up, "If you try to run, I guarantee the other units outside will catch you." The other then says, "There is no use if you are surrounded."

He fingers the bag filled with their utensils and extra needs. It had extra weight to it whenever he carried it on his person. The spear was out of the question, as it was light and not as heavy at all. Perhaps he should abandon all the deadweight.

Ravalima wiggles in her sleep, her snores getting a little louder. Her gibberish mutters only for his ears to pick up.

Nestio lightly picks up a strand of white hair and caresses the mask of his own creation. Her snoring stops abruptly, her hands waving around and grabbing. Nestio hooks his massive hand over Ravalima's own.

_It's his. All his_—

"HEY! What's taking so long—?"

Suddenly, Ravalima's scream filled the air.

* * *

**IV.**

* * *

Ravalima's shriek died as only chokes remained.

_False alarm. False alarm!_

Pudgy hands lifted her from her father's grasp. She struggled, eyes still closed and dazed.

"Is he good now?" A voice of concern speaks, the owner that held her fixes her position.

"Yes. He's pinned down."

_False. Alarm. _

Ravalima snaps open her eyes. She's face to face with a head that was small as hers but with a body that paled in comparison to her father's.

She tilts her body to face her father, who laid restrained on the dirt ground, pinned. His wandering, frantic eyes pivot from the menacing worker to her.

He relaxes albeit tensed. Her father looked ready to bolt.

"Do you have any relations with the man on the ground?" The pudgy demon asks while she watched her father being hefted up from the ground.

"He's my father." She says briefly.

"Oh," The demon that dressed in red and yellow stripes then gasped after a few seconds. He lifted her up in the sky like Simba. Ravalima could've sworn she's seen a slight reddening on his face.

"You just look like her!" He exclaims, earning her a surprised squawk when he looked her up in many different angles. "You have her beautiful white locks, her fine human-like skin—" He continued to gush over her, not minding on how awful she looked at the moment.

Nestio had already broken away from the bonds the plantation handlers had put on him. The crushed remains were thrown at them in the process as well. "_ That's enough _." The six-foot-tall demon snatched his offspring by the scruff of her collar roughly.

"Oh, Nestio, I see you're still as rude as you were younger."

Nestio had the decency to mockingly drawl, "Oh,_ Lord Pupo_, I didn't realize your mannerisms of personal space and the crime of kidnapping children has diluted this far." Ravalima hung limply from his hand like a kitten as Lord Pupo sputters.

_I remember holding a cat like this once, _Ravalima's mind wanders blankly. Her body was stuck in place, she couldn't move at all. Though, for some reason, something started to gather somewhere inside her body and projected the feeling of pins and needles throughout her entirety.

_Lord Pupo? Wait, that— _She struggles to clip in the final piece of Carol's memories to her own. Blurred black and white pages wove through just barely but she tacked it in altogether.

"Oh, _oh_." She mumbles hurriedly, her throat going dry. Not from the sudden memory reveal but from the position she was currently held in.

"Nestio," Pupo, the five regent head, admonishes softly, "I think your daughter is getting uncomfortable." Despite Nestio having Ravalima in his arms, his hand was still clutched on his neck.

He released his hold almost immediately but made no move away from the noble.

"Now, I suppose it's time we head back to the main Headquarters. The Duke will want to have several words with you. Shall we?" Then, Pupo carefully weaved Ravalima out of her father's embrace.

"And, I'll be the one carrying her!"

* * *

**V.**

* * *

Ravalima deduces that both Nestio and Pupo were on familiar terms, with how they talked and regarded each other.

Her father was over the head rude. The noticeable twitches and movements that ever so often appeared. He looked like he was ready to take her and bolt out of there immediately.

Plus, his spear was confiscated.

Pupo, however, she didn't know _what _to think of him. To assume and to suppose of him anyway. Though he did mention a "her".

_Who's 'her'? A relative? I look like 'her' but who is_—

Unfortunately, Ravalima didn't know demons reproduced with a mate.

* * *

**VI.**

* * *

"So, what's your name, young one?"

They've all gotten back to Headquarters by noon time.

Headquarters aka the only different house located in the Premium Farms.

Premium Farms as in where most of the main characters were in. Namely Grace Field and Glory Bell.

Her father was promptly dragged by two high ranking plantation workers through two large doors. Pupo was also unceremoniously dragged by their victim through the doors, too.

So that left Ravalima, the only non-human child in the entire building, alone.

Luckily, one of the workers with the most hideous gas mas mask she's ever seen led her to a separate room. With no questions asked by both of them, she was changed to a more modest set of clothing.

"...Ravalima."

"Ah! Like Her Majesty."

"Uh, sure."

_I don't give a crap if I'm somewhat named after your Queen._

She was too late to realize it when her name was literally a part of the queen of all Demonkind.

_Legravalima and Ravalima. Hah! What kind of joke is that?_

"Eh, sorry to interrupt," Another tall demon slides open the door, peeking in with its bulky form and hideous mask. "Duke Yverk asks for the kid in the meeting room."

"Of course."

The farm worker takes away the clear cup of red liquid that tasted like fruit juice. Ravalima had to admit it tasted just fine, but the smell said something else entirely.

* * *

**VII.**

* * *

After the servant had left to get the child, all noise in the whole meeting room ceased.

Nestio begrudgingly sat a few meters away from his father. Lord Pupo sat on the other end who twiddled his fingers awkwardly in the silence between father and son.

"The Tifari is in a few weeks time." Duke Yverk spoke first, breaking the silence.

Nestio grunted uncaringly.

"You've missed most of the Tifari gatherings after your sudden escapee from the Capital with Lord Pupo's daughter. On top of that, your daughter has the blood of both royalty and nobility, as have you."

"So do keep in mind," Duke Yverk continues, "The Ceremonies are important. Especially for this year, as one of the premium quality goods for ɯᴉH have escaped."

Lord Pupo intercepts the conversation, adding in his own. "And with your escape from the Imperial Capital, you've earned concerns from many other relatives. Her Majesty and her younger brother happen to express their own as well."

It wasn't really a surprise that the two members of the royal line got along with the other half of the family.

Nestio scoffed, rolling his eyes. Duke Yverk narrowed his eyes in question but his son waved him off.

He can understand the Queen he's barely known but respected all his life since her princess days. But her brother? Lewis? Nestio gave a short, quiet laugh at the thought of the Archduke worrying over something so… useless.

Perhaps useless wasn't the right word, but Nestio did know the Archduke wasn't the kind of person to be concerned over something so little.

"Here she is, milords." A white form emerged from the door, small claws latching on the wood. The servant nudged the child in while they took two small steps into the darkness.

"Ravalima," Nestio motions her to come to him, "Come."

The girl dutifully skipped over, her eyes wandering from her father to the other two occupants that sat in the table.

The servants in the back took this as a cue to exit the room.

"Your creativity is waning." The Duke comments, not taking his eye off his granddaughter.

Nestio shrugs, hefting Ravalima up to his lap. "Truly? If my creativity is waning, then what about your wardrobe? You're wearing the same garments constantly since I've last seen you." He then adds, "Or are you trying to become like the Archduke, who has worn the same thing for over eight hundred years? Are you going to become one of _those _aristocrats?"

Lord Pupo cringed. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the situation. The Duke looked ready to throw Nestio at the wall. Nestio himself looked like he was enjoying himself.

"I think…" Ravalima spoke softly, "You should stop." She pokes her father's chin with her nail. "No fighting." She insistently poked her father, repeating what she said.

"Exactly." Surprisingly, it was Lord Pupo who spoke. "I mean, we've brought the child here to discuss the final decision of what to do to step forward. Let's not waste time with your constant rebuttals to your father, Nestio." His other eye watches Ravalima. Nestio tightened his hold on her, earning a faint confused chirp.

"Now, let's continue our meeting."

* * *

**VIII.**

* * *

Isabella climbed down the latter, brown orbs looking around the ominous tunnel.

_Is this where Minerva is?_

She clutches her pen and continues her path down the corridor.

She comes across a hallway with a matter of doors, rooms maybe. Isabella goes down farther, jumping in startlement when she heard a noise.

_A demon? _Her mind flutters back to the demon kid—Ravalima, her mind whispers—_No, no. No demon knows about this place. Then…_

She opens the door.

On the floor, cluttered with books lay a man in his young adult years. His flat white hair and equally startled blue eyes whirl to her. He gasps, standing up and dusting his suit.

"I apologize. I was renovating the shelter for further use." He smiles a real, genuine, kind smile. The human man rubs the back of his head sheepishly as he stares down at all the fallen books. Isabella ignores it all.

"Are—Are you William Minerva?" Isabella stumbles on her words, fingering the checkered pen. Is this really the man who wrote all those books? The man who put in all those codes about the _truth-?_

"Yes," He says, a slight smile appears on his lips when Isabella looks hopeful and relieved. "And I'm sure you have a lot of questions."


	7. Chapter 7 - The Dance of Death

**I.**

* * *

_No use overthinking, right?_

With her fork, she pokes the meat on her plate and stabs the green peas until four individual peas were on each point.

_Heehee I did it!_

_You're not okay, _her mind supplies. She mashed the peas as though if it was mashed potatoes.

Her father gave her the same look that he gave off in the woods with the vida plant.

_...I am!_

Ravalima grinned sheepishly under her mask.

* * *

**II.**

* * *

_"As punishment for going missing for two decades, taking the young daughter of Lord Pupo, with an added bonus of several property damages in the Pupo and Yverk territory, Nestio will stay on house arrest in the Royal Capital with the eyes of the royal retainers until the Tifari Ceremonies."_

_"Until then, young Ravalima will stay with other relatives."_

* * *

**III.**

* * *

"If it makes you feel any better," Pupo speaks up, putting down his wine. "Duke Yverk nor will I be taking care of her, as we ourselves are busy for the preparations for the Tifari."

Nestio hummed, no longer acknowledging his plate of food. All his attention was on his daughter, who continues to still play with the greens on her plate. She was quiet after the meeting but he didn't blame her at all.

_She's acting more like an adult than a child._

* * *

**IV.**

* * *

One more day until her father will leave.

One more day until she would be dropped off to the unknown close relative.

It was also by chance that her father knew who they were, by his body twitching ever so slightly whenever the two regent heads mentioned them.

_But who? Who were they?_

From her limited knowledge, Yverk was her father's father, and Pupo was her mother's. They were her grandfathers. However, due to the upcoming Tifari Ceremonies, both of them _can't _watch over her.

_Siblings, perhaps?_

_They never mentioned them, so that's probably out._

_Hmm…_

Ravalima bumped her head on a soft clad wall that stopped in its tracks. She blinked and picked herself up, an apology on her lips but when she looked up it all died on the tip of her tongue.

The soft wall was a short human male, with growing white hair hanging straight above his collarbone. His bright, emerald almost blue eyes widened when he saw her.

He seemed to muster a smile, or at least that's what she thinks, "I didn't see you around the corner, but I apologize." Peter Ratri's eyes twinkled in earnest.

"I—" Her eyes squinted while wandering to his face, and hair. She shook her head, "I didn't see you either. I was—thinking about something."

_You're such a deceiving pretty boy._

* * *

**V.**

* * *

It was an awkward walk around the Headquarters, Ravalima admitted as she listened to the future 36th Head of the Ratri family.

At first, he was suspicious on to why she was here but she simply answered her father was visiting family.

Peter Ratri's eyes perked up, he snapped his fingers. "That would mean you are the child related to the Duke, are you?"

She answered, "Sure."

After that, the silence seemed to be suffocating Ravalima the further they got. She had a feeling her father was throwing a tantrum at her disappearance.

Or was probably back with Duke Yverk and Lord Pupo.

_What if they were all waiting for her?_

_What if they were discussing the final verdict?_

Then, her hand grabbed the younger Ratri's larger hand. Surprisingly, his fingers curled over her own.

* * *

**VI.**

* * *

"What are these?"

Isabella picks up each photograph as if they were a delicate piece of a million-dollar painting. Minerva laughs, more photographs in his hands with more mesmerizing colors.

"These are pictures from the Human World."

"—!" Isabella gaped, drinking up detail in the photo laid in front of her. Just after she recovered her bearings after her journey to the shelter, she was told of the Promise and the separation of the Human and Demon Worlds.

But she didn't think that William Minerva himself could travel between the worlds.

_This man was willing to go to the lengths of having the cattle children break free._

"The Human World is a grand place." He would explain, "There are buildings that reach to the sky, advance technology that would put the Demons' own devices to shame, and—"

The Grace Field Escapee held the picture of a human city in the night, filled with dazzling colors and a lit-up sky. Strange symbols that looked like mini pictures littered some of the signs in the photo. She flipped to the back, as they had every place written on there.

_Tokyo, Japan._

"Mister Minerva," She gulps down the delicious cookies that he brought, "Will I go to the Human world?"

It seemed too good to be true. She, a human born in a Demon's world and raised to be cattle, going to a world that was freedom from this cruel world?

_Will humans there even accept me?_

"I'll make sure of it," He says, words final and resolved, blue eyes determined. "After all, that is my plan."

_For all the cattle children who are suffering because of his ancestor._

"It just—seems all too good to be true, Mister Minerva." She admits, echoing her thoughts. "How did you even put this off?"

_How did you put something that was impossible?_

"When you are the Head of the Ratri clan, you have many things at your disposable." The white-haired male smiles as he drinks from his cup, "One of them just so happens to be where the entrances to the Human world are."

* * *

**VI.**

* * *

"Hey, Mister Minerva," Isabella calls, cooking her lunch as the impossible man, as she likes to call him, moves the furniture around. "Do you think I should write something for future escapees?"

"Well, it's not a bad thing to do, so why not?"

At night, Isabella starts off the first page of her book detailing everything she could.

On the back, it said, _Property of Isabella, a Grace Field Orphan of Shelter B06-32._

_(... In the future, a Glory Bell Escapee would find use in the book, but in the inevitable future the Grace Field cattle children would take it up as a memorial …)_

* * *

**VII.**

* * *

"That doesn't seem terrible." says the mythical demon.

"Yes, _it does_!" Ravalima splutters, grabbing the revered god's shoulders, their masks clonking together.

This was the unfortunate fifth time she's come to this dimension. It seems whenever she falls asleep her dreams are replaced with a meeting with the child demon and his dragon.

It was also unfortunate for the mythical being himself, as he has to spend his time with her.

"Do you know who you're staying with?"

"Yes!" Ravalima crossed her arms, tapping her feet. She released a heavy breath, "Of course I do!"

"If you are upset with the choice that Yverk has made, then why complain?"

Ravalima then proceeded to headbutt her face into the mythical being. She lowly says, _" _Because of the Tifari Ceremonies that they are preparing for _you_. They are busy for _you_."

"And now, in the next two weeks, I have to stay with—"

* * *

**VIII.**

* * *

Before she awoke, her father had already departed for the royal capital with Lord Pupo.

So Ravalima was left waiting with her Duke Yverk, her other grandfather.

They sat in a victorian styled office that she really liked. It was… human-like for better terms.

It reminded her of the world and its history she left behind.

_Oh my god, why is everything so tense?! _

Her small body was plopped down on the brown leather chair that looked like it was going to swallow her up.

"You're smaller than I thought." Her grandfather folds his hands, his crimson eyes regarding her with an unreadable expression. "That… is not normal."

"Oh." was only what she could say. "Why?"

"You are the size of a human toddler, if not a little bigger, but for your age, you are supposed to be physically larger."

From then on, Yverk takes out a book showing her all the forms of demonkind. She was thoroughly fascinated.

_At the mini-lesson the man who her father disliked, or the stages of infancy to adulthood?_

But then, she decides to ask, "What was my mother like?"

A question that was more suited to ask her father, but he was gone before she could even ask.

"She was the youngest out of all the aristocrats of the Pupo family and all regent heads. She just so happened to fall in love with your father, young one." He adds, answering her question, "She was timid, a little bit naive but she knew of the right and wrongs."

_That… sounds like Carol._

They were interrupted by the knock of the door.

It opened.

From another perspective, if Ravalima were to never have her past life's memories, she would've fainted on the spot upon seeing the humanoid figure that stepped into the room.

Ravalima was dreading this part from yesterday morning and night to now.

_Death itself has come for me and there is no running away._

_He looks terrifying, real or fake._

"This is her?"

She wasn't even up to his kneecaps.

Did _this _one demon have kneecaps?

_Twigs. He has thin twigs for legs._

The demon in front of her was clad in all black, with a cloak and top hat that screamed to not mess with this one.

Ravalima felt something skit up her back. It was a monkey with a hat.

_Parvus, _her mind supplies for her.

"It's a pleasure to see you after a while, Archduke Lewis."

_She was gonna have a long sleep when this was all over._

* * *

**Thank you for the reviews, I really appreciate them!**


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